A Long Memoried Woman
by anitafromscotland
Summary: An old woman tells her grandchildren about her part in the war.
1. Default Chapter

A Long Memoried Woman  
  
Summary: Many years in the future, and old woman tells her grand-children of her part in the war.  
  
A/N: I've never written Tonks before, so please let me know what you think. The title comes from the title of a book of poems by Grace Nichols, 'I is a Long-Memoried Woman.' If you want, parts will probably be posted on my livejournal (http:// www.livejournal/ users/uknosila) a day or two before I post them here.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Grandma! Grandma! Tell us a story!"  
  
The old women laughed, amused at the eagerness of the three children crowded round her. "Tell you a story? About what?"  
  
The eldest, a tall girl in her early teens, leaned against the chair her Grandmother sat in. "Tell us about your past."  
  
"About the war!" Her younger brother chimed in. "Tell us about how you fought in the war, and about the Order of the Phoenix!"  
  
"You can't be interested in that. It all happened so long ago.." The old woman paused, her voice trailing off. "I wasn't interested in history when I was a kid, you know."  
  
"But Grandma.. you're a hero!"  
  
"Heroine. Duh." His older sister gave him a withering look, before turning back to her Grandmother. "If you can't remember, that's ok."  
  
"Can't remember! I'll have you know, my memories are as clear as they ever were! Can't remember."  
  
"Tell us then. Please Granny." The youngest of the trio spoke up for the first time, staring with an avid attention. The old woman's face softened as she reached down to stroke her fingers through the child's hair.  
  
"It all happened such a long time ago. And things were very different then, very different indeed. And I was just a girl, really, although I thought myself all grown up."  
  
She leaned back in the chair, stretching her legs out in front of her. "For me, it all started one fairly ordinary day.."  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Wotcher, everybody!"  
  
"Wassup, Tonks!" I slapped my hand into Annie's, noting the disapproving frowns from the older Aurors around us.  
  
"Nymphadora, you are late." Because I tripped over in the kitchen, smashing my bowl and sending cereal everywhere, and then the cleaning charm went wrong, and my owl arrived at just the wrong time with more post than usual, but who needed to know that?  
  
"Sorry! Any emergencies gone down in which my presence would've been essential?" His scowl deepened. "Thought not."  
  
Mainly because I was newly qualified and expertly clumsy, the vast majority of the other Aurors thought I was a hazard to be avoided at all costs. I mean, yesterday, all I did was copy out documents for someone whose quill had broke! And then accidentally tipped over his inkpot.  
  
I think some of them were starting to wonder why I was here, and of what use I could possibly be. After all, I couldn't even be trusted to get the tea!  
  
I swung into my cubicle, and started drumming my fingernails against my desk. Of course, it wasn't half so effective as it would be if my nails were just that bit longer..I scrunched up my nose, watching as my nails grew long. And, blue? Purple? No. Yellow, definitely not. Pink? That would work!  
  
Examining my newly long and pink nails, I was surprised when someone gave a polite cough at the door to my cubicle.  
  
"Are you doing anything?" Kingsley Shacklebolt's voice suggested he thought the scenario of me doing anything even vaguely useful was very unlikely. Twat.  
  
"Not at this exact moment in time, no."  
  
"Look over this for me, then. It's a report on, on, um. Muggle weapons. From Arthur Weasley. It's very important. Could help to catch Sirius Black. I want you to read through it, make notes on how effective these things are, and how likely it is that he'll be able to get one."  
  
And he left. Just like that. No please, no thank you, just a 'do this'. Honestly, if I'd known this was what being an Auror was like, I'd have done something more exciting. Like, working in the Centaur's Office.  
  
Giving my best-disgusted sigh, I settled down to read.  
  
* * * * *  
  
And read. By the time I'd even got halfway through, everyone else was packing up to leave. Course, as Annie had commented, my three-hour lunch break could've had something to do with my rate of work.  
  
But it was boring! Most of it was useless, just whoever wrote it going on about how fascinating Muggles are. Fascinating my arse. I'd never been so bored in my life!  
  
I flicked onto the next page, feeling I should probably try to get just a bit more done before heading home. And then froze at the writing there.  
  
This parchment was slightly different to the rest, slightly thicker, slightly different coloured. Enough to stand out if you were looking for it, not enough if you weren't.  
  
But it wasn't the parchment that made my blood freeze in my veins. It was the writing on it.  
  
Kingsley, the headquarters are finally open! Sirius swears that the basement is finally fit for human habitation. Molly's making meatballs to celebrate, come along.  
  
You'd better burn this with the other, just to be safe. We're going to have to find a new way of communicating - this is just too risky.  
  
I didn't recognise that hand-writing, but it was obviously that, not quill- written. It had to be Arthur Weasleys.  
  
And Sirius? There was only one Sirius I knew of - my mother's cousin, Sirius Black. The criminal, the murderer, that Kingsley was trying to track down! There had to be some mistake. Sirius was a rare name, but that didn't mean there wasn't another, not dangerous Sirius. He possibly worked in a shop. Completely harmless.  
  
And headquarters - probably just slang, an in-joke. It couldn't mean headquarters as in, headquarters for an evil group of psychopaths who secretly worshipped You-Know-Who.  
  
Kingsley couldn't be a traitor, could he? A Death-Eater? It had to be impossible.  
  
But what other explanation was there?  
  
Should I give this to someone? Show them, get it out of my hands? Except it wouldn't be. It would get out, that I'd passed it on, and how stupid would I look if it was harmless? I'd never get anywhere - maybe I was clumsy, but at least I was smart. If people thought me stupid as well, I might as well marry my desk.  
  
But what if it wasn't? Should I confront Kingsley myself? Surely that would be stupid - unless I did it in a public place. He couldn't kill me in a public place, could he?  
  
Well, he could, but would he be stupid enough to?  
  
Maybe I should sleep on it. I'd probably wake up, full of brilliant ideas as to what to do, and everything would magically solve itself without even a wave of my wand.  
  
Yeah. That was the best plan.  
  
* * * * * 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: The characters don't belong to me.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"  
  
"Shut up!"  
  
"Petrificus Totalus!"  
  
Oh my God. Oh my God. I had three strange men in my room, it was the middle of the night, and I couldn't move. Oh my God.  
  
"Is she okay?" Was I okay?! Was I OK?! What kind of stupid moron..  
  
"I think she's panicking." That voice, slow and deep was far too familiar. Oh my God. I had Kingsley Shacklebolt and two of his Death Eaterish friends in my room! One of them could even be Sirius Black!  
  
"Tonks, we don't want to hurt you." One of the dark silhouettes leaned closer. Oh my God. "Look, don't do anything okay? We just want to talk to you, and we'd like to ask you some questions, so I'm going to take the spell off now, okay? We aren't going to hurt you." He spoke soothingly, as if I was some scared little kid who was about to run away screaming. Which, admittedly, I felt like doing.  
  
"Finite Incantatum!" Quicker than I think I've ever moved before in my life, I rolled across the bed, grabbing my wand and sticking it out in front of me. Tonks, Auror Extrodinaire!  
  
"You are aware you're outnumbered three to one?" The man who'd spoken first spoke again, his voice dry and slightly scathing.  
  
"Who are you?" My voice trembled as I spoke, but my hand was steady. Good.  
  
My question was ignored. "Tonks, we just want to talk to you." The gentle sounding-man spoke again, his voice still soothing and calm.  
  
Slowly, my eyes were adjusting to the dark, and I could make out Kingsley's bald scalp and earring.  
  
"Kingsley?"  
  
"Do you know why we're here, Tonks?"  
  
"Because you're Death Eaters and I saw your secret note?"  
  
What I was not expecting was laughter. "No, Tonks. We're not Death Eaters. We're, well, the opposite."  
  
"I thought Aurors were the opposite."  
  
"Not quite, Tonks. Not quite."  
  
"Have you ever heard of the Order of the Phoenix?" The gentle man spoke again.  
  
"Remus!"  
  
"Now she's slept, we'd have to erase most of her memory to be sure she's forgotten, and we're not doing that."  
  
"No, you are not!"  
  
"You can't tell her.."  
  
"Dumbledore said.."  
  
"I know, what Dumbledore said, but Remus, she's useless! She can't enter a room without falling over!"  
  
And ouch. That hurt. Mainly because I knew it was partly true, but only partly! I was brilliant at some things - disguises, for one, and I wasn't bad at duelling! And why did I care what he thought?  
  
But I did, and I was so glad it was dark and they couldn't see me blush.  
  
"Kingsley, she's an Auror. She passed the tests, got through the training. That alone means she's not useless. And we are not wiping her memory." He turned back to me. "Tonks, the Order of the Phoenix was created during the first war. It was formed to fight Voldemort. And now you need to come with us."  
  
"What?!"  
  
"We need to tell you more, but we can't tell you here. We need you to come back to headquarters with us."  
  
"But I can't!"  
  
"Why?" He was starting to sound slightly impatient.  
  
"Because I'm only wearing my pyjamas."  
  
"Oh. Well, get changed, and then come with us." He stood back, as if expecting me to jump up and start stripping.  
  
"Not in front of you!"  
  
Now he definitely did look impatient, but also a little embarrassed. I think that the other man was rolling his eyes.  
  
"We'll go outside then, and.."  
  
"No!" I was really starting to dislike Kingsley. "What if she Apparates away?"  
  
"Take my wand." Stupid, maybe, but I was not undressing in front of three men.  
  
"You would rather give up your wand than undress in front of us?" Kingsley obviously shared the opinion that this was a slightly stupid thing to do.  
  
I stuck my nose in the air. "You should feel glad I trust you." And they should've, as well. It's not like they deserved my trust. What had they ever done to earn it?  
  
The calm one, who still seemed to think I was a nervy five year old, shot a look at Kingsley. A 'shut-up-you're-not-helping-look.' Which was all very well, but I was capable of making my own decisions without paying attention to sarcastic comments. Like when I told my roommates I was going to become an Auror, and they all started laughing...  
  
I held my wand out to the calm one, who took it cautiously. I mean, honestly, what was I going to do, booby trap my own wand?  
  
"Will you let me get dressed now?"  
  
Surprisingly, they did. Suppose they wanted to take me to their 'headquarters,' wherever that was.  
  
When I was done, they gave me back my wand. We then only had to Apparate, before we were there, standing (at last) outside their headquarters..  
  
* * * * *  
  
"And then what? What were their headquarters like?"  
  
"Were they the headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix?"  
  
"Yes! They were. But I cannot continue without a glass of water, I am parched. If one of you would be so kind?"  
  
Her eldest grandchild jumped up, running out the door and towards the kitchen. Her siblings stared after her, willing her return, eagerly awaiting the next part of their grandma's story.  
  
* * * * *  
  
I'm so, so sorry it's taken me so long to update. Would I sound really stupid if I told you I forgot about it, and then lost it? Probably, but what can I say? I'm a ditz.  
  
Much thanks to Suzaku24, Zaraky, Dis (Hi!), kneh13, nickywal2003, little- lost-one, and Captein Amelia for reviewing! Why not follow their good example? (hint, hint)  
  
And to answer a question, I don't know who Tonks has married. I haven't decided yet! But probably not Remus or Harry (sorry Zaraky!). It probably won't be Kingsley or Ron either. I'm a fan of more unusual pairings.. 


	3. Chapter 3

* * * * *  
  
We arrived on a dark street, not just because it was the middle of the night, but also because someone had put out all the streetlights. Very useful for Apparating wizards appearing out of nowhere, and I guessed it had something to do with the wizard in front of me.  
  
Not a hard guess, as Albus Dumbledore had something to do with most things, or seemed to anyway.  
  
"Ah!" He said upon seeing me. "Nymphadora Tonks! Gryffindor, wasn't it? Very good. Lemon drop?"  
  
Considering that I was dizzy from Apparating, tired from being pulled out of my bed in the middle of the night, scared I was about to be murdered by a secret cult and more than slightly confused about everything that was going on, I think I can be excused that my most intelligent comment was, "Uh?"  
  
Dumbledore smiled, putting a paper bag back in his pocket. "Perhaps another time then. Nymphadora, I have come to tell you something." He leaned forward, a smile twitching his lips, eyes twinkling like mad. "The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix are at number 12, Grimmauld Place, London."  
  
"Wh - " In the corner of my eye, something was moving, shifting. Spinning to watch, I could only stare as a house - a house! - appeared from where none had been before. It wasn't even like there'd been a gap or space for it to come from - it had just shoved the other houses aside! What spell could do that?  
  
Dumbledore stepped behind me, placing a hand on my shoulder. "The Fidelius Charm, Nymphadora." What? How? Had he read my mind?  
  
Come to think of it, he probably had. Sneaky old bastard. Oops. Sorry, Professor, if you're listening. I mean it in a complimentary way.  
  
Was it me, or did he smile?  
  
* * * * *  
  
Ok, I didn't trust them anymore. Outside, with Dumbledore, I had thought they were the good guys, but now it looked like the Daily Prophet was right. This was clearly the lair of some very, very dark wizards.  
  
The signs were all around: snakes, dark shadows, more black than was necessary, and were those house-elf heads? I leaned forwards as I walked to them, disgusted and intrigued. It was then I met the umbrella stand.  
  
CRASH!  
  
"OW!"  
  
"Tonks!"  
  
"Filth! Scum! Mutants, half-breeds, Mudbloods, leave this place! How dare you enter this place, befouling the home of my fathers, the Noble and Most Ancient Home of Black!"  
  
While I could only stare at the mad-woman in the portrait, someone behind me grabbed my arm (not too gently) and dragged me up. "Recognise anything, Tonks?" He had to yell to be heard over the noise. Remus and Kingsley seized the curtains, trying to drag them back together again. The woman just screamed louder.  
  
"She wouldn't." Dumbledore spoke from behind us. "Her mother was disowned before she was born. She has never been here before."  
  
Wait. He couldn't mean.."That woman is not my great-aunt!" I paused, considering what my mum had told me. "Actually, she is, isn't she?"  
  
Dumbledore smiled. "Yes. That woman," He gestured at the portrait, which had just been silenced. Kingsley and Remus gasped for breath. "Is your great-aunt." He smiled again, leading us further in down the hall, guiding me with a hand on my back into a dark room. Inside, a man sat with his back to me, long, dark hair trailing down his back.  
  
He turned towards us, and it was then I saw his face. "Sirius Black!"  
  
Some odd expression, strangely like hurt spread over his face. "Remember me, Tonks?"  
  
Panicking, I whirled to the side, only to me Kingsley. Kingsley, who was looking for Sirius Black. Who didn't look at all surprised to see him there. "Oh my god. You're all Death Eaters, aren't you? Are you going to kill me now?"  
  
I had my wand in my hand, but against Albus Dumbledore and Sirius Black, among others, how much use could it be? But maybe I could take out one, at least, before. "Nymphadora." Dumbledore grabbed my hand, no doubt reading my intentions. "Do you remember Sirius before he went to Azkaban?"  
  
"Yes. Of course! You were my favourite cousin, you bastard. But how could you do that, you - "  
  
"Nymphadora." Dumbledore cut me off again, before I could fully let Sirius know what I thought of him. I settled for glaring instead.  
  
"Miss Tonks," Dumbledore repeated, drawing my eyes off Sirius to himself. "Do you believe that Lord Voldemort has returned?"  
  
"I..I don't.."  
  
"Do you believe it or not?"  
  
"I don't know! I mean, I haven't seen any sign that he's back, and.."  
  
"Will you believe me if I tell you he is?"  
  
Would I believe him? I didn't know. On the one hand, this was Dumbledore - the man my mother had told me I should always trust, the man my father had so admired. He was a hero, the wisest and most powerful wizard alive. And he was trusting me with this, this information that would let me become someone more than just clumsy me.  
  
On the other hand..I was clumsy me. If You-Know-Who had returned, did I want him to target me? He had killed my parents - he wouldn't hesitate to kill me.  
  
He had killed my parents. "I would believe you, and join you." As simple as that. He had killed my parents. Did I want revenge, or want to stop him and his Death Eaters from doing the same to other children?  
  
And after all, why had I become an Auror? To run and hide, bury my head in the sand? I didn't think so.  
  
Dumbledore was smiling at me, and the atmosphere around me seemed slightly more relaxed than it had been previously. "I cannot say how glad I feel that you will be joining us. And now, introductions. You already know Sirius, and Kingsley, of course, but this is Remus Lupin and Arthur Weasley."  
  
Weasley? Why did that sound.."Oh! Charlie! Your son, is..Charlie." Arthur gave me a slightly bemused smile, but nodded all the same.  
  
"Yes, he is. You were at school with him?"  
  
"Yes. And Bill. And Percy. And Fred and George. And Ron as well, actually."  
  
"You missed Ginny, then."  
  
"Yes." There was another one?!  
  
Remus Lupin, the gentle one who had been speaking to me like a nervous 4 year old, held out his hand. I shook it, being polite. He smiled. "Good to have you here. We need more Aurors."  
  
"Well, I hope I'll be useful. I can be a bit clumsy though." Apologising in advance is normally the best tactic.  
  
Kingsley muttered something under his breath that I didn't catch. I glared.  
  
Dumbledore placed his hand back on my shoulder. "Well! Now you know everyone here at present, all that remains is to tell you the time of the next meeting." He paused. "We normally have meetings at least once a week, always at a different time, for security reasons. Kingsley will contact you when it is time to come."  
  
Kingsley nodded. "Don't make any arrangements you can't break quickly."  
  
Okay. I could do that. Pretend I was ill, or something.  
  
Dumbledore spoke again, sounding more serious, "And now, Nymphadora, I must apologise for what I am about to do. It is not that we don't trust you, but it is necessary for security reasons." By this time, I was very nervous again. "I must place a simple charm on you. Rest assured, it will not prevent you from living your life as you normally do. It will simply prevent you from talking about the Order and its work, to anyone who is not also a member."  
  
"Oh. Okay, then."  
  
Screwing up my eyes, preparing for some pain or at least discomfort, I was pleasantly relieved when I just heard a low mutter, and felt a slight draft around my head.  
  
"Was that it?"  
  
Dumbledore smiled at me. "Yes, Nymphadora. That was it."  
  
And that was it. Returning home that night, I could barely believe it hadn't just been one long, and rather vivid, dream.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Responses to reviews.  
  
Suzaku - Thanks! I'm glad you thought it was funny. And sorry it's been a bit of a wait - I've had beta problems!  
  
Leveen Tonks - Thanks for reviewing! And no, don't worry, it's not going to be Tonks/Harry or Tonks/Remus. There will be a pairing eventually, but it won't ever play a big part in this fic, I promise.  
  
Dis - Yeah, I would have felt frightened. Thanks for reviewing, it is nice to hear from you!  
  
Kate - Yeah, she's one of my favourite characters too! She's very fun to write. Thanks for reviewing! 


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: None of the recognisable characters (i.e, Tonks and Kingsley) belong to me.  
  
A/N: Again, sorry for the wait. To apologise, this chapter is much longer than the others. Oh, and I'll be posting revised versions of the other chapters over the course of the next few days/weeks, but you don't have to read them. They've just been changed slightly, had some extra stuff added.  
  
* * * * *  
  
A few days later, I was still trying to work out if it had actually happened, or if my mind was thinking up elaborate dreams to play tricks on me. So, when Kingsley approached me at work, I was very relieved.  
  
"Hi, Tonks," he said, his slow, deep voice sounding serious. As always.  
  
"Hi!"  
  
"Did you listen to the Quidditch on WWN last night?"  
  
What? What sort of question was that? "No, I didn't." Unless, of course, he was speaking in a secret code that he'd forgotten I didn't know, and 'Did you listen to the Quidditch' actually meant 'we are having a secret meeting tonight at our secret headquarters, and you'd better be there.'  
  
Kingsley stepped closer and perched on the edge of my desk. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Annie frantically trying to get my attention.  
  
Kingsley spoke again, "I wanted to thank you for those notes you made, Tonks. They were most...informative." Okay, now he sounded sarcastic. I mean, yes, maybe I could have made better, more detailed notes without the added cartoons, but I hadn't. And that was, well, that, really.  
  
Annie had given up subtlety, and was now standing on her chair to lean over her divider, desperately trying to make eye contact. How was it that I was the one who had almost failed Stealth and Tracking?  
  
Unfortunately, her antics had drawn the attention of everyone else in our surrounding area, who were following Annie's example of watching us.  
  
Kingsley looked around, shot me an irritated look (like it was my fault!) and said, "Could I speak to you at lunch?"  
  
Oh my god. Was Kingsley Shacklebolt asking me out?  
  
Except no. Think, Tonks. He obviously doesn't want to tell you about the secret meeting with an audience, so is pretending to ask you on a lunch date to tell you in private.  
  
"Ok. Sure. See you at lunch then," I replied. He gave me a short nod and walked off.  
  
Annie zoomed over. "Oh my god, Tonks! Did Kingsley just ask you out? Kingsley? Okay, tell me everything he said."  
  
"Annie, calm down. It was nothing like that, so don't jump to conclusions and get your mind out of the gutter! He was asking me about the notes I made for him on the firearms report, for catching Sirius Black."  
  
"Yeah, whatever. First it's reports, then it's a lunch date, and before you know it - "  
  
Unfortunately, she found it difficult to continue speaking with me trying to slap her.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Lunchtime came, and Annie was still eyeing me from across the room. Pointedly meeting her eyes, I headed for the loos.  
  
Pushing open the door marked with a little drawing of a female wizard, I ducked into the end cubicle and waited while the only other occupant finished up and washed her hands. It was only then I screwed up my nose, and concentrated.  
  
It started as light tickling sensation, like a feather. The sensation, however, was made uncomfortably freaky by the way it felt like I was being tickled from inside.  
  
Stretching my hands out in front of me, I focused harder on the image in my mind, seeing her, and seeing myself becoming. The skin on my hands grew black, my body slightly taller. On the back of my neck, I could feel my hair get heavier and longer, and knew it's normal brown was growing black, the normally loose curls getting tighter. I could feel my cheekbones spreading, lips puffing, nose elongating. I looked down at myself, and the temptation to scratch at the maddening itch grew almost painful as my breasts swelled, hips widened and waist narrowed. Oh, I loved being curvy.  
  
I unlocked the door and sashayed out, sauntering past the girl who stared in confusion as this gorgeous woman, with just a hint of Kingsley Shacklebolt in her features...  
  
* * * * *  
  
I strolled back into the office, catching quite a few more admiring looks than I normally did as plain old Tonks. Part of what made this so brilliant. I couldn't see Kingsley anywhere, so leaned over to the nearest desk.  
  
"Hey," I said, lowering my voice just in time. "Do you know where Kingsley is? I was supposed to meet him for lunch..."  
  
"I think he'd be in the canteen. Excuse me, I don't know you name. Are you his...?" The guy was obviously an old-timer, here since god-knows-when, and clearly suspicious of any strange women wandering around the Ministry.  
  
"Oh!" I smiled, holding out a hand for him to shake. "I'm sorry, I'm his sister. Melissa." I gave the first name that came into my head.  
  
He still looked suspicious. "Where's your visitor pass?" Damn. Smart move, Tonks: choose the most suspicious Auror in the room, why don't you?  
  
"Oh, I, um...I lost it."  
  
"You lost it?" He stood up. "Look, I don't know - "  
  
A hand grabbed my elbow, yanking me away. "Oh come on, Jim, give the girl some slack." Neil Murray, one of the biggest lechers in the Department, if not the whole Ministry, gave me a wink. I think he was aiming for flirtatious. Unfortunately, it fell short at creepy. "Don't worry, I'm sure she won't do any harm. Look at her!"  
  
He gave me another smile. I think saying that was supposed to be complimentary, and I was suddenly remembering why I liked being me. If I was myself, I could out-duel him, any time he wanted! However, instead of doing what I wanted, I kept up the act, giving him a coy smile.  
  
"If you could just take me to the canteen, I could meet Kingsley there."  
  
"Sure thing. It's right this way." Completely ignoring the older Auror, he steered me off in the direction of the canteen.  
  
Unfortunately, our little scene had attracted some attention, and over my shoulder I could see Annie giving 'Melissa' a very suspicious look, scanning my outfit. Damn, damn, damn. I hadn't even bothered to try and make my outfit look different - not that I could have done much.  
  
Annie got to her feet, jogging after us. The minute we were out into the corridor, I stopped dead, almost pulling Neil-the-perve over.  
  
"What?" He sounded annoyed and confused. Good. He deserved it. Annie opened her mouth to speak, but I got there first.  
  
"I need to go to the bathroom! You - " I pointed at Annie, "Please take me to the bathroom."  
  
Her eyes narrowed. "Look, I don't - "  
  
I lunged at her, shoving her back to towards the bathroom door. She grabbed at me, getting a handful of hair. "Ow!" I yelled.  
  
"Get off me!" She responded, going for her wand. I grabbed her arm, giving one last massive shove, and got her through the door to where we both fell on the bathroom floor, knocking over some poor woman I vaguely recognised from somewhere. Behind us, a toilet flushed, and another woman came out to stare at us, wand out.  
  
"Annie," I hissed in her ear. "Remember what I told you about me? The M-M thing?"  
  
"What?" She bucked, obviously trying to get me off her, or get at her wand, whichever. She also shot me a look suggesting she didn't think I was entirely sane.  
  
"About how I like to act like different people?" The two other women were just standing there, not doing anything to help Annie, but eavesdropping shamelessly.  
  
"What on earth are you on about?" Annie screeched, obviously not in the best of moods for working out who I was.  
  
Someone knocked on the door. "Um, is everything ok in there?" Neil, obviously worried, but luckily not enough to break the great taboo preventing him from entering the Ladies loos.  
  
Annie opened her mouth to scream, but I got my hand over it first. "Yes, everything's fine! It's just, um, female problems!" Outside, I heard footsteps backing away. Good. One less thing to worry about.  
  
The woman who had her wand out gave me a very strange look, and started edging towards the door. "You!" She jumped when I spoke to her. "Look, please stay there, alright? Everything will be fine."  
  
"Mmmm-mmoonnn." Annie gave her opinion on the matter. The woman did not look at all relaxed at this.  
  
Ah well. Nothing for it. "Annie, it's me. Tonks."  
  
She froze at that, eyeing me wild-eyed from over my hand. I slowly removed it.  
  
"Tonks?" She whispered. "Oh my god. You're a met - " I shoved my hand back over her mouth.  
  
"Don't tell everyone! Look, please, this is important, I need your help."  
  
"With what?"  
  
I paused, trying to think up a credible enough story to tell her. The voice of one of my instructors drifted through my head, "when lying, always tell as much truth as possible." Right. So. As much truth as possible.  
  
"I'm meeting Kingsley."  
  
"Oh my god! I knew it! I knew it! How long have you been seeing him? And how could you not tell me? Oh, I so knew you two had something going on."  
  
"Yeah, well, you were right then. But, uh, he doesn't want people to know. So I'm pretending I'm his sister, ok? I'm meeting him for lunch, but I'm late because of this."  
  
"Oh, well come on then! And Neil will be getting suspicious too, won't he, why didn't you just tell me in the first place? God, and you can't go to meet Kingsley looking like that, you look a mess, Tonks, you really do." I scrambled up off her, going over to one of the mirrors. She was right. A scratch on one cheek was just starting to sting, my black hair was all over the place and my clothes were messed and dishevelled.  
  
I frantically ran fingers through my hair as Annie jumped up behind me, wincing and rubbing the back of her head.  
  
"I am going to have such a bruise, Tonks."  
  
"Well, what about this scratch? Your nails are too bloody long."  
  
"Oh, like you can talk."  
  
Outside, I heard a polite cough. "Melissa? I you want to talk to Kingsley, you might want to hurry. He normally only takes quite a short lunch break."  
  
"Oh my god," I groaned, leaving the mess that was my appearance and running for the door. "Annie, thank you so much, you're wonderful, okay?"  
  
"Yeah, ok, go! Don't want to miss your date..."  
  
So it was with the sounds of Annie's giggles in my ears that I dashed back out to the corridor.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Oh!" Neil exclaimed. "There you are. At last! I thought I was going to have to send in a search party."  
  
Yeah, so not funny. I giggled anyway, keeping up the brainless airhead act. Neil looked me over, confused.  
  
"Are you ok?"  
  
"Oh yeah! I just...tripped, that's all! Clumsy me!"  
  
"Ah. I see." He still looked confused, obviously wondering how I got gotten into the state I was in by falling. I relaxed when his face cleared, but then tensed as he smirked. "You can't be as clumsy as this girl in our department though. God knows how she became an Auror. She can't even walk without falling on her face!"  
  
What?! I was not that bad! That complete jerk! How dare he slag me off to some brainless pretty girl he'd just met. The nerve of some people! He didn't even know who 'Melissa' was! Well, he thought I was Kingsley's sister, but did he know that? I think not!  
  
I tried to calm down, and form an appropriately Melissa-ish response. "Well," I began, "I'm sure she's not that bad. And if she's not the most graceful person, she must be very good at other things. She's probably very good at duelling. Maybe even better than you!" I said it jokingly, but was very offended when he laughed.  
  
"I really doubt that, my dear Melissa. As far as I can see, she has absolutely no redeeming qualities whatsoever. She's not even very pretty - quite plain, really. You wouldn't notice her if it weren't for all the things she knocks over. Nothing like you!"  
  
At this, I was so angry I was rendered speechless, which was probably a good thing. My vows to either castrate him or just plain kill him were moderated into a firm decision to just slightly enhance my appearance tomorrow, just enough to make him realise how incredibly wrong he was.  
  
This train of thought got us to the canteen doors, where he stopped and gestured for me to go in. "This canteen serves the whole floor," he said. "So it might be a little crowded. But I'm sure Kingsley will be in there."  
  
"Thank you so much," I snapped, pushing past him, only pausing to see his startled reaction to my rudeness. Ha, take that, jerk. Melissa is one girl you won't get your hooks into.  
  
Inside, I looked around the crowded room, smelling the scents from the food table. Today's options were fish and chips or spaghetti and meatballs. Normally, I'd be zooming straight for the pasta, but today I found Kingsley before practically running to get my plate. Slightly over-cooked spaghetti and six meatballs with tomato sauce. Yummy. Or, almost. But it was cheap, so was I complaining?  
  
Kingsley, when I sat down in front of him, looked slightly surprised he'd attracted the attention of such a gorgeous girl with such a large plate of food.  
  
"Hello?" He said. It sounded more like a question than a greeting. I leaned closer, so we wouldn't be overheard.  
  
"Hi," I whispered. "It's me, Tonks."  
  
His eyes widened as he looked me over. Did he know what I was? Had I told him? Or, had someone else told him? Otherwise, this could get very difficult.  
  
"Wow. I mean, I knew you were a metamorphmagi, but..."  
  
"How did you know?"  
  
"Dumbledore told us all. Part of the reason he said you should come."  
  
"Oh. Well, that's alright, then."  
  
He shot me a look. "It's not exactly a secret, what with the way you keep changing in public."  
  
"I know. I'm not supposed to. And I don't all that often!"  
  
"Well, no. And you are fairly discreet, but...I once saw you changing your nails."  
  
"I'm only allowed to do little stuff like that. The boss said it would be really confusing if I looked different everyday, so I'm not supposed to."  
  
"Well, fine. But Tonks, listen. Meet us there at seven o'clock tonight, okay? Make sure you're on time."  
  
"Chill, I will be."  
  
He gave me a look that was deeply sceptical. "You're never on time in the mornings."  
  
"That's not true, I am so. It's you that's always early!"  
  
"Tonks - "  
  
"Alright, alright, I'll be early too. Tonight. I'll be there. You can count on me."  
  
He got up and moved away. Seconds later, Annie dropped down into his place.  
  
I gave her a shocked look. "You weren't eavesdropping, were you?"  
  
"No!" She replied. "I was sitting all the way over there!" She pointed. "I couldn't hear a thing. But come on, spill. Are you seeing him tonight? What are you going to wear?"  
  
I sat up straight, spilling spaghetti and sauce down my top. Oh, damn. What was I going to wear?!  
  
* * * * *  
  
The old woman paused, eyeing her grand-children. "You three are being awful quiet," she said. "You're normally much noisier than this!"  
  
The eldest hastened to explain. "We want to hear the story, Grandma!"  
  
He younger brother chimed in. "Yeah! Tell us more about the Order of the Phoenix! Did you fight in any battles?"  
  
The old lady laughed. "A few, but they happen much later on in my tale."  
  
"So continue, please!" The children all begged.  
  
The old lady cleared her throat, and continued....  
  
* * * * *  
  
Thanks to Dis, Suzaku, tonks_IS_cool (I agree!), Kate the Tigeress, _Leveen_Tonks_, JustBlue, baby_chaos and CountessMel for reviewing! You are all very much appreciated.  
  
And tonks_IS_cool - to answer you question, yes, Tonks is going to meet Harry in this. This will (hopefully!) continue on through OotP, and maybe even beyond, depending on how things are going by then. So yes, Harry will be making a few appearances. 


End file.
